US embassy cable - 05LIMA4267

UNCLAS LIMA 004267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KSUM, ECON, PGOV, PE 
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS 
DECLARATION (PERU) 
 
REF: A. STATE 178321 
 
     B. STATE 175049 
     C. LIMA 3824 
 
1.  (U)  With Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua unavailable (he 
attended a decentralized Cabinet meeting in Tacna on 9/27 and 
was departing with President Toledo for the South American 
Community of Nations Summit in Brasilia on 9/29), the 
Ambassador raised the USG's concerns over the Summit of the 
Americas Declaration (Ref A) at a 9/28 lunch with the Foreign 
Ministry's Vice Minister of Foreign Relations Javier Gonzales 
Terrones, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Eduardo 
Chavarri, and Director of North American Affairs Nestor 
Popolizio. 
 
2.  (U)  VM Gonzales, who gave no indication that he was 
aware of the substantive issues involved, expressed optimism 
that a Summit Declaration would eventually be agreed to, 
commenting that Latin Americans tend to improvise a solution 
at the last minute while Americans approach these matters in 
a more organized manner.  Popolizio, who participated in SOA 
negotiations in his prior assignment as DCM at Peru's Embassy 
in Washington, fixed on the Ambassador's observation that the 
Argentines had insisted on chairing all working groups at the 
last SIRG (Ref B), noted that chairmanship of working groups 
had been shared between participating delegations during 
other Summit discussions, and said that he would discuss 
Peru's involvement in the upcoming SIRG in Washington with 
the Ministry's Multilateral Affairs bureau. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Polcouns presented the demarche on the Summit of 
the Americas Declaration (Ref A) to Julio Garro, the Foreign 
Ministry's Director of Multilateral Affairs on 9/27.  Garro 
was sympathetic to our concerns over the Summit Declaration, 
said that Peru agreed with the need to come to closure at the 
Washington SIRG, and added that Under Secretary for Political 
Affairs Fernando Rojas would head Peru's delegation to that 
meeting. 
 
4.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  The Summit of the Americas has not/not 
been a priority issue for the Foreign Ministry's Bureau of 
Multilateral Affairs, which has been concentrating its 
limited resources on the UN General Assembly and the South 
American Community of Nations (where President Toledo will be 
handing over the Presidency to his Brazilian counterpart 
Lula).  The decision to send U/S for Political Affairs Rojas 
(number three at the Ministry) to head Peru's delegation, 
however, provides an indication that Peru is taking a more 
serious look at the SOA process.  USOAS may wish to follow-up 
on our lobbying in Lima for a more forceful and positive 
Peruvian role at the Washington negotiations by making a 
similar push with Peru's OAS delegation.  END COMMENT. 
STRUBLE